Irons began acting in the early 1970s, first on stage then moved on to television. He gained recognition and fame for his role as Charles Ryder in the television version of Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited. He made his film debut in the 1980 biographical film Nijinsky and later starred in Reversal of Fortune, which won him his first Academy Award for playing the role of Claus von Bulow as a villain. Irons also voiced Scar in the critically acclaimed movie The Lion King.

Of the shoot, Dan said: “As a youth I was fairly obsessed with Brideshead Revisited and bought myself a nasty old tweed suit from a thrift store, wore it with a trilby and tried to be like Jeremy Irons (mixed with a little Indiana Jones and a touch of Haircut 100. It wasn’t a good look). So finally getting to meet the man was a great treat and he didn’t disappoint. He was a little strange but super charming and everything you’d want in a classical actor with mighty skills. And he did wear a trilby. And he did look cool in it. But I won’t be copying that one again."